Security Levels

Bargaining Unit Status (BUS) Codes

Every civilian position in the Coast Guard is assigned a Bargaining Unit
Status (BUS) code. BUS codes are 4-digit numbers used to identify which
Bargaining Unit a position belongs to, if any. If a position is in a
bargaining unit, the BUS code also identifies which one it belongs to.

A Bargaining Unit is a group of non-supervisory employees usually
sharing similar conditions of employment and working conditions and
determined by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to have a
clear and identifiable community of interest such that their exercise of
rights will promote effective dealings with, and efficiency of the
operations of, the agency involved called an Appropriate Unit.

The codes help identify an organization’s exclusive representative,
more commonly known as a Union. For example, Base Support Unit Kodiak is
exclusively represented by the Association of Federal Government
Employees (AFGE). The BUS code for this unit is 3575. Except for where
certain units have been consolidated, every Appropriate Unit has a
unique BUS code.

Units that have been declared Appropriate but do not have an
exclusive representative will have a BUS code of 7777. This means there
is no Union currently representing this unit, but it is eligible for
representation if a petition is filed to do so.

Some positions have a BUS code of 8888. This code identifies
positions that are not eligible for representation by a Union. This does
not necessarily mean that an entire unit is exempt from Union
representation. Because the position itself is covered, the duties of
the position must be reviewed. A position might be in a unit which has
Union representation but the position may be coded as 8888 because of an
exemption. The Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute
identifies those positions that are excluded from a Bargaining Unit. See
list below for 6 categories of Bargaining Unit exclusions:

Management Officials

Supervisors

Confidential Employees (Only refers to those with direct access
to Labor-Management Relations info)

Employees engaged in Personnel Work

Employees engaged in National Security activities

Employees involved in Internal Audit functions

Professional employees have the option of being covered or not. If
professional employees elect not to be covered, they will have a BUS
code of 7777. They require highly specialized degrees and often require
licenses to perform the job; i.e. engineers, lawyers. Professional
Employees are engaged in the performance of work:

Requiring knowledge of an advanced type;

Consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its
performance;

Which is predominantly intellectual and varied in character (as
distinguished from routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical
work); and

This is of such character that the output produced or the result
accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of
time.

Students and Temporary employees may also be excluded in certain
situations. Student and temporary appointments are looked at on an
individual basis taking into consideration the unit description and the
length of the appointment.

A BUS code can be found on an employee SF-50 Notice of Personnel
Action in box 37. Again, it is important to remember that a position is
assigned a BUS code, not an employee. When an employee leaves the
position, the BUS code remains with that position. If he/she takes a
position in another unit, the new position may have a different BUS code
which will be reflected on the new SF-50.

Employees are not obligated to become members simply because they
are in a bargaining unit. Nor is Union membership automatic just because
the position is in a Bargaining unit. Employees must pay Union dues to
become official members. Employees are covered by the negotiated
contract of that unit and have a right to Union representation
regardless of membership.